1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to beverage container holders and, more particularly, to a compact cup holder adapted to be used in an automobile wherein curved cup rings mounted to a slidable drawer are pivoted to an open position in which they cooperate with semicircular openings in the drawer to form complete circular retainers for a beverage container, and wherein a cup supporting member is pivoted to a position centered below the complete circular retainers to support the bottoms of beverage containers received in the circular openings.
2. Description of the Related Art
Individuals traveling by automobile or other motor vehicle frequently find it useful or enjoyable to consume a beverage while en route. Such travelers may carry with them individual bottles or cans of their favorite refreshment. More frequently, travelers will utilize the convenient services of restaurant "drive-thrus" at which they typically receive their beverages in cups of expanded polystyrene foam or paper. However, the individual cans, bottles or cups which one receives when a carry-out beverage is ordered are typically small, light in weight, and easily upset or spilled when set down on a seat or the floor of a vehicle. Obviously, this is to be avoided as the spilled liquid may soil the interior of the vehicle as well as the clothes and personal possessions of the vehicle's occupants.
Consequently, a number of devices have been developed for retaining and supporting beverage containers used in automobiles. U.S. Pat. No. 4,511,072, entitled Drinking Cup Holder for Automobiles and issued Apr. 16, 1985 to Owens, discloses a folding cup holder which may be stored in the glove compartment when not in use and which further includes magnets for securing the cup holder to an appropriate metal surface. This device is obviously limited in use, because a suitable mounting surface may not be within easy reach of the user.
Several prior patents disclose trays which may be slidably mounted below an automobile dashboard for movement between a retracted storage position below the dashboard and an extended position of use above or close to the leading edge of the front passenger seat. Such trays may be provided with fixed circular apertures for receiving beverage containers. Examples of these devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,825,611, entitled Tray for Automobiles and Other Similar Vehicles and issued Mar. 4, 1958 to Aynesworth, U.S. Pat. No. 3,606,112, entitled Retractable Beverage Holder for Motor Vehicles and issued Sept. 20, 1971 to Cheshire, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,899,982, entitled Pull Out Table for Attachment Beneath an Automobile Dashboard and issued Aug. 19, 1975 to Fetzek.
Other references disclose trays which may be swingably mounted below an automobile dashboard for movement between a storage position below the dashboard and a position of use extending from the dashboard toward the seat. These trays also may be provided with fixed circular apertures for receiving beverage containers. Examples of the latter devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,772,934, entitled Food Service Tray and issued Dec. 4, 1956 to Eraut, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,190,241, entitled Serving Tray for Vehicles and issued June 22, 1965 to Rodgers et. al.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,845,315, entitled Utility Shelf for an Automobile Instrument Panel and issued Jul. 29, 1958 to McCoy, discloses a shelf which is slidably mounted for movement into a recess in a dashboard for storage and for movement outwardly of the recess for use, but the shelf does not provide means for retaining a beverage container.
The prior art devices which provide specific means for supporting and retaining beverage containers disclose trays having complete and fixed circular apertures arranged in a side-by-side or front-to-back relation. This necessarily requires that the width or depth, respectively, of the tray be greater than the diameter of two beverage containers to allow enough area to enclose a pair of fixed, complete circular apertures. Such devices obviously occupy considerable space below the vehicle dashboard.
However, with the increased use of mobile telephones, citizen band radios, and other electronic equipment in automobiles, the available space below the automobile dashboard is becoming more and more limited. In addition to the foregoing electronic devices, automobiles are increasingly being outfitted with bulky standard features such as stereophonic radios, tape players, compact disc players, and air conditioning, which further limit the available space behind the dashboard for the installation of an in-dash beverage container holder. Thus, it is desirable to provide a compact beverage container holder which occupies a minimum amount of space below the dashboard or which, alternatively, can be mounted in a small recess in the automobile dashboard, in a recess in an automobile door armrest, or on the underside of a fold-down armrest of a type used to separate the two portions of a split bench style seat.
To provide maximum flexibility, a beverage container holder should include a means for supporting a bottom surface of the container. If the sole means for supporting the container is provided by circular apertures of fixed size, then many beverage containers may be either too small or too large to be adequately supported by the holder. However, the provision of a fixed means for supporting the bottom surface of a beverage container substantially increases the space occupied by the holder, which space as mentioned above is at a premium in current production automobiles. Therefore, it is also desirable to provide a compact means for supporting the bottom surface of a beverage container.